Credentials that matter
Skills and tools
- Criticality
Required qualifications
- If you have experience and expertise in reactor design, apply!
- We also think the following are good indicators of qualifications to do this job: Bachelors, Masters, or Ph D in a technical field, such as nuclear engineering, with experience in reactor design and analysis (Masters or Ph D may be preferable) Fluency with Python Proficiency with high performance computing systems Proficiency with MCNP, SERPENT, or SCALE (TRITON, KENO, SAMPLER, TSUNAMI, MAVRIC) is highly recommended with methods for light water/research and test reactor analysis.
- Highly skilled with Monte Carlo tools such as MCNP, Serpent, SCALE, or Open MC. d with or eager to develop expertise in sensitivity and uncertainty analyses.
- Familiar with shielding calculations and variance reduction methods.
- Interested in irradiation target design and isotope yield optimization.
- Able to develop and qualify computational methods using benchmarks, experiments, and independent verification.
- Comfortable working across neutronics, thermal hydraulics, materials, mechanical design, operations, safety, and licensing disciplines.
- Proficient in scientific programming and analysis automation, preferably using Python or a comparable language.
About this role
The Senior Neutronics Engineer is responsible for developing and executing neutronics analyses supporting the design, optimization, operation, and safety evaluation of an isotope production reactor. The engineer will perform analyses to support core design, fuel cycle, target performance, shielding, and sensitivity/uncertainty quantification across the reactor lifecycle and isotope production facility.
Responsibilities
- Perform reactor core design and optimization using Monte Carlo and, where appropriate, deterministic neutron transport methods.
- Develop and execute models using codes such as MCNP, Serpent, and SCALE Perform core lifecycle and fuel management analyses, including depletion, burnup, reactivity evolution, power distributions, fuel utilization, and operating cycle optimization.
- Evaluate core physics parameters, including excess reactivity, control element worth, shutdown margin, reactivity coefficients, kinetics parameters, and criticality safety margins.
- Design and optimize irradiation targets to meet isotope yield, specific activity, radionuclidic purity, heat limits, and production schedule objectives.
- Perform depletion, activation, decay, and transmutation analyses for fuel, targets, structural materials, experimental hardware, and reactor components.
- Develop neutron and photon source terms for shielding, activation, decay heat, dose, and isotope processing evaluations.
- Perform shielding analyses using variance reduction techniques.
- Apply sensitivity and uncertainty methods using tools such as TSUNAMI and SAMPLER to quantify nuclear data, modeling, and manufacturing uncertainties.
- Establish appropriate biases and uncertainties to establish design margins.
- Develop, qualify, and maintain computational methods, analysis procedures, cross-section libraries, and reference models.
Preferred qualifications
- Hands on experience with irradiation experiments at a research and test reactor is a plus.
- Competencies We are looking for a senior neutronics engineer who is: Passionate about applying nuclear technology to isotope production.
- Knowledgeable about reactor physics and radiation transport methods.
Location, schedule, and travel
Oklo requires remote employees to travel to headquarters (Santa Clara, CA) twice a quarter annually, based on business or team needs, including attendance at team meetings, off-sites, and other company events or gatherings. For the first two weeks of onboardin
Similar roles
Senior Neutronics Engineer - Isotope Production
Oklo